This walk-in studio will boast well over 400 ceramic items to choose from, including Disney licensed pieces and many other Color Me Mine exclusives, a Design Center featuring 22,000 images and over sixty colors to paint with! Customers will design and paint their pieces however they like. Staff members will be ready with painting tips, tricks, and techniques. Color Me Mine is a perfect outing for families, date night, or even solo. It’s great fun to relax and paint, and even more fun to take the glazed and fired work of art and enjoy it forever!

Color Me Mine is great for birthday parties, showers, handprint keepsakes, fundraisers, Scout events, school programs, and much more! It’s a great way to spend quality time while creating gifts and masterpieces that will last a lifetime. Everyone’s an artist at Color Me Mine!

For more information about Color Me Mine at The Avenues Mall, please visit: www.jacksonville.colormemine.com and on Facebook.

For groups of less than 6 – NO APPOINTMENT NEEDED!

About Color Me Mine Inc.: Color Me Mine is the leader in the paint-it-yourself ceramics industry with 136 studios franchised throughout the world. Each location is an upscale art-as entertainment studio offering unfinished ceramics and other craft media. Customers enter a relaxing environment, choose one of 400 unfinished ceramic pieces, and spend an hour or two painting it to explore their own artistic vision.

Cirque du Soleil returns to Jacksonville with its touring arena show OVO after having to cancel shows in October due to Hurricane Matthew.

To honor its commitment in Jacksonville, OVO will be performing at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena from August 2 to 6, 2017.

Thrilling more than 5 million people worldwide since the show premiered in 2009, OVO has embarked on a new journey, performing the same captivating production, now in arenas, giving more people the opportunity to enjoy a Cirque du Soleil show in their hometown.

Ticket Information

Advance tickets for OVO are now available online exclusively to Cirque Club members. Cirque Club membership is free and benefits includes access to advance tickets, special offers and exclusive behind-the-scenes information. To join, please visit www.cirqueclub.com.

Just in time for the holidays, tickets for the general public will be available starting Friday, December 9th, 2016 at www.cirquedusoleil.com/ovo . Adult tickets start at $35 and child tickets start at $25 (subject to change).

About The Show

OVO, meaning “egg” in Portuguese, is a headlong rush into a colorful ecosystem teeming with life, where insects work, eat, crawl, flutter, play, fight and look for love in a non-stop riot of energy and movement.

When a mysterious egg appears in their midst, the insects are awestruck and intensely curious about this iconic object that represents the enigma and cycles of their lives. It is love at first sight when a gawky, quirky insect arrives in this bustling community and a fabulous ladybug catches his eye – and the feeling is mutual.

The cast of OVO is comprised of 50 performing artists from 12 countries specializing in many acrobatic acts. One highlight of OVO is the stunning Flying Act where group of scarabs soar high above – from each corner of the stage – and land together on a platform in the middle.

About Cirque du Soleil

The company has brought wonder and delight to more than 160 million spectators in more than 400 cities on six continents. Cirque du Soleil has almost 4,000 employees, including 1,300 performing artists from about 50 different countries. For more information about Cirque du Soleil, visit www.cirquedusoleil.com. To find out more about the ONE DROP Foundation, visithttp://www.onedrop.org.

My name is Heather Little and my husband and I have two sweet girls and one crazy dog. We moved to Florida 6 years ago and have loved every minute of it! I enjoy crafting, good food, shopping, and of course travel!

THE AVENUES HOSTS EASTER BUNNY PHOTO EXPERIENCE

Families can also visit the Caring Bunny – a unique event in a subdued environment tailored to special needs children

Simon®, a global leader in retail real estate, is hosting its annual Easter celebration festivities at The Avenues, offering families the chance to participate in traditional and unique seasonal events.

Save time and avoid the line with Bunny by Appointment! Now you can reserve your magical moment with Bunny online athttp://simon.noerrbunny.com.

The Bunny Photo Experience begins March 10, 2017 and runs through April 15, 2017 in Center Court. Kids will have the chance to visit with the Bunny and take home a treasured snapshot of the fun occasion.

The sponsors for the 2017 Bunny Photo Experience are The Gymboree Corporation – including its Gymboree and Crazy 8 children’s clothing brands and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment which is celebrating the highly-anticipated release of “Sing,” available on Digital HD March 3rd and on Blu-ray DVD March 21st. Come visit the Simon Easter Photo Experience and receive a fun-filled activity sheet, a custom Sing holiday headband, and watch highlights from the movie.

“We love to hold family-friendly events and we always look forward to watching children interact with the Bunny at Easter,” said Ashley Nettles at The Avenues.

The Avenues’ Caring Bunny™ event will offer families that have children with special needs a subdued environment to participate in the Bunny Photo Experience. Caring Bunny, the largest program of its kind, has been developed by Simon and is guided by AbilityPath.org, a national online resource hub and special needs community. Over 90 Simon® properties will host the Caring Bunny this season. Promotional assistance for Caring Bunny has been provided by Autism Speaks.

On April 2nd from 8 – 10:30AM many steps will be taken to reduce sensory triggers, creating a more comforting environment for children’s cherished visit with the Bunny. The subdued environment is likely to include (specific elements or aesthetics may vary):

• Turning off in-mall music, stopping escalators located near the photo set, dimming the lights and shutting down fountains for the duration of the event.

• Eliminating queue lines through the use of a numbering system whereby guests approach the set when their number is called.

• Special activities geared toward the needs of the child during the ‘wait’ period to help the child understand what activities will occur during the visit.

The Avenues

Bunny Photos: Now – April, 15

Caring Bunny: April 2, 8 – 10:30 a.m.

About Simon

Simon is a global leader in retail real estate ownership, management and development and a S&P100 company (Simon Property Group, NYSE: SPG). Our industry-leading retail properties and investments across North America, Europe and Asia provide shopping experiences for millions of consumers every day and generate billions in annual retail sales. For more information, visit simon.com.

AbilityPath.org is an online hub and special needs community for parents and professionals to learn, connect and live a more balanced life. The website combines social networking features with expert content fromAbilityPath.org’s team of educators, parents, therapists and medical professionals.AbilityPath.org was created by Community Gatepath, a nonprofit with over 90 years of experience serving families and children with special needs by fostering hope, dignity and independence. AbilityPath.org may also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

About Autism Speaks

Autism Speaks is the world’s leading autism science and advocacy organization. It is dedicated to funding research into the causes, prevention, treatments and a cure for autism; increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorders; and advocating for the needs of individuals with autism and their families. Autism Speaks was founded in February 2005 by Suzanne and Bob Wright, the grandparents of a child with autism. Mr. Wright is the former vice chairman of General Electric and chief executive officer of NBC and NBC Universal. Since its inception, Autism Speaks has committed more than $500 million to its mission, the majority in science and medical research. Each year Walk Now for Autism Speaks events are held in more than 100 cities across North America. On the global front, Autism Speaks has established partnerships in more than 40 countries on five continents to foster international research, services and awareness. To learn more about Autism Speaks, please visit AutismSpeaks.org.

Gymboree is part of The Gymboree Corporation family, which began in 1976 with Gymboree Play & Music, offering parent-child play programs. Today, along with franchised and company-operated Gymboree Play & Music locations, The Gymboree Corporation operates three specialty retail brands – Gymboree, Crazy 8 and Janie and Jack – offering unique, high-quality products delivered with personalized customer service in more than 1,300 stores worldwide and on www.gymboree.com, www.crazy8.com, and www.janieandjack.com.

About Universal Pictures Home Entertainment

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (UPHE) is a unit of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios (www.universalstudios.com). Universal Studios is a part of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment television networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, world-renowned theme parks, and a suite of leading Internet-based businesses. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.

Happy 2017!! 2016 was a great year for myself and my family. This year I do want to make a resolution, to eat healthier. I now work part time in the afternoons/evenings, so trying to come up with healthy meals at lunch time and dinner time is becoming quite the task. For lunch sometimes I grab fast food for a quick option which isn’t healthy, or sometimes I skip and eat a snack at work which is not healthy either. I get home after 6pm and the last thing I want to worry about is what meal I will be cooking. I would rather spend quality time with my family. Sometimes I wish their was an easier way.

Well, I found one! I was contacted recently by Blue Sage Cuisine, a local catering company out of Jacksonville, FL. They provide locally sourced, scratch/made organic/natural cuisine, including Vegan, Vegetarian and Gluten Free options.They offer weekly meal prep and delivery. After speaking to the very sweet owner, Jasmine Wooden, I was very intrigued and definitely wanted to give this a try.

Here is some information about Blue Sage Cuisine:

At Blue Sage Cuisine , we provide locally-sourced food choices that are scratch-made and preservative-free. From corporate business needs and private parties to holiday dinners and weddings, we cater events of all kinds while maintaining the highest quality ingredients and service. We provide plated family-style, full service buffet and drop off service for weddings to small groups and everything in between. Our intimate service allows you to have personalized, high-quality service in the comfort of your home, office or any space that meets your needs. Since everything is made fresh, you can customize your menu to meet your dietary or personal preferences. We also offer fully Vegetarian, Vegan and Gluten Free options.

We are passionate about serving the highest quality natural and organic cuisine. That means we work with local farmers and fishmongers to ensure we receive sustainably sourced, wild caught seafood, free-range and grass fed meats and organic produce. We make everything that we can from scratch to ensure that we know every ingredient that goes into your meal. You can trust that you are eating only what is listed on the ingredients and nothing more! We believe that food is primary to good health and what goes into your body is of the utmost importance. We can’t wait to serve and share our passion with you! Be well!

When you go to www.bluesagecuisine.com, their are many tab options at the top. Check out the “Meals” tab. This will show you the food that Blue Sage Cuisine offers. From Brunch to Soups and Salads, everything looks and sounds so yummy! They also serve a wide range of Vegan meals. To get started with Blue Sage Cuisine, click on the “Contact Us” tab. Then, click on “Info Sheet-Meal Delivery”. Fill that form out and Blue Sage Cuisine will be in touch with instructions on how to order.

When you are ready to order, you will see the weekly menus being offered for the following week. They are currently delivering to a select location in each of the following areas: Mandarin, Nocatee, Baymeadows/9A, Stands/UF, and San Marco. In order to pick up your meals on a Monday, your order must be placed by the following Saturday. Jasmine will explain all of that information in her email to you.

You can choose from a weekly lunch option which includes 5 different meals. You can purchase the “regular” lunch serving size, which is what I reviewed, or they have a larger portion option for an additional cost. All of the meals are packaged in BPA free containers and they are re-heatable making it very easy! The meals I received in the regular portion lunch option are below:

Lemon Chicken Pasta

Chicken Chili Verde

Shrimp and Avocado Salad

Mediterrannean Plate

Turkey Burger and Sweet Potato Fries

Each meal comes with heating instructions and calorie count. These meals make it super easy for my busy mornings/afternoons before I head out to work. They are also great for a quick and easy dinner just for myself. All of the ingredients are very fresh and everything was so tasty. Each meal kept me full until dinner time. My husband tried the Mediterranean plate and he is pretty hooked!

I was able to choose a Family Meal as well. Each meal feeds a family of four. They all looked so good, it was hard to choose. Each comes with a salad or side dish.

I chose the Lasagna Bolognese which comes with a salad.

The family meal was more than enough food for my family of 4. We had plenty of leftovers for the next day! The food was so good and I love that it is a much healthier version.

In conclusion…. the website was very user friendly, ordering process using PayPal went smoothly, and the meals are affordable, healthy and delicious. If you are looking to start eating healthier or are in a time crunch to prepare meals, then definitely give Blue Sage Cuisine a try!! Check out the below coupon for a discount on your first order during the month of January!

Hey there! My name is Anne and I'm a mother of 2 who likes to get involved in too much! Besides writing here I work as a paraprofessional, I started a non-profit and am very active in my community. I enjoy music, reading, cooking, traveling and spending time with my family. We have 3 cats and 1 dog and love them all!

My name is Marijean, I live in Sunny FL with my wonderful husband and 2 children. I love Disney, Coffee and Blogging :)